Nicholas Flores

Professor Hernandez

ANTH 101

April 7, 2023

The Development of Evolutionary Theory

 A Brief History of Evolutionary Theory

o Fixity of Species – Fixity of Species is the notion that species, once create, can

never change. It’s an idea that is diametrically opposed to theories of biological

evolution.

o Argument from Design – The ‘argument from design’ has to do with the plan of

the entire universe being viewed as God’s design. It states that anatomical

structures were designed to meet the purpose for which they were required.

o The Scientific Revolution – The scientific revolution has to do with the

transformation of centuries-old beliefs in a static universe to a view of worlds in

a continuous motion. It has to do with how the scientific methods that we use

today were developed. This process included attacking/challenging traditional

beliefs and touched on several areas including but not limited to biological

diversity, planetary motion, plants, animals and other areas of scientific thought.

 Precursor to the Theory of Evolution

o John Ray (British) – John Ray is credited with the introduction of the concept of

species. He recognized that groups of plants and animals could be differentiated

 from other groups by their ability to mate with one another and produce fertile

offspring.

 Species – Species is a group of organisms that can interbreed to produce

offspring. Members of one are reproductively isolated from members of

all other species. They cannot mate with them.

 Genus – Genus is a group of closely related species.

o Carolus Linnaeus [Swedish] (Still believed in the fixity of species)

 Four level system is called Taxonomy – Carolus Linnaeus was a Swedish

naturalist who developed a method of classifying plants and animals. His

famous work is called Systema Naturae, or System of Nature. He

standardized the use of genus and species terminology and established

the system of binominal nomenclature, a naming convention made up of

‘two names.

o Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte decenter Buffon (French) – Georges-Louis Leclerc,

recognized the dynamic relationship between the external environment and

living forms. He recognized that different regions have unique plants and

animals.

o Erasmus Darwin – Erasmus Darwin was Charles Darwin’s grandfather. He

expressed the view that life had originated in the seas and that all species had

descended from a common ancestor. His concepts included that vast expanse of

time for life to evolve, competition for resources, and the importance of the

environment in evolutionary processes.

o Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (French)

 Use it or lose it concept – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck suggested that a

dynamic relationship between species and the environment and that if

the environment changed, an animal’s activity patterns would also

change to accommodate the new circumstances. This would result in the

increased or decreased use of certain body parts, i.e., ‘use it or lose it’.

o George Cuvier (French) Anatomist - Georges Cuvier was Lamarck’s most

vehement opponent. He introduced the concept of extinction to explain the

disappearance of animals represented by fossils.

 Catastrophism – Catastrophism was the belief that the earth’s geological

features are the results of sudden, worldwide, cataclysmic events. It had

to do with regional disasters that destroyed animal and plant life in many

places.

o Thomas Malthus (British) Economist – Thomas Malthus wrote an essay on the

Principle of Population. It was his essay that inspired Darwin and Wallace in their

discoveries of natural selection. His main focus was actually on population

growth and not in species change.

o Charles Lyell (Scottish/British) – Charles was a lawyer, geologist, and Charles

Darwin’s friend and mentor.

 Founder of modern Geology – Charles Lyell is the considered as the

found of modern Geology.

  Geological Uniformitarianism – Uniformitarianism is the theory that the

earth’s features are the result of long-term processes that continue to

operate in the present just as they did in the past. This theory opposed

catastrophism and contributed strongly to the concept of deep geological

time.

 Deep Time – Lyell provided an immense time scale that changed

perceptions of the earth’s history from a few thousand years to many

millions of years changing the framework which scientists viewed the

geological past.

o Mary Anning (English) – Mary Anning was a lesser-known person who

contributed this intellectual movement. She focused on marine fossils embedded

in the cliffs near her town. After her discovery of the first Plesiosauarus, some

famous scientists repeatedly visited her home where she shared her extensive

knowledge of fossil species.

o The Discovery of Natural Selection – Natural selection is the most critical

mechanism of evolutionary change. It refers to genetic changes in the

frequencies of certain traits in populations due to differential reproductive

success between individuals.

 Reform Movement (know generally) – The Reform Movement sought to

undo the many inequalities of the traditional class system. Like other

social movements it had a radical faction. Many of the radicals consisted

 of atheists and socialists who supported Lamarck’s ideas. Many people

came to associate evolution with atheism and political subversion.

 Charles Darwin – Charles Darwin was credited with being the first to

describe natural selection. He realized that biological variation within a

species was crucial.

 FAMOUS FINCHES pictures of a few – During a visit to the Galápagos

Islands, Darwin collected 13 variations of finches. Even though it was

clear that they represented the same group, some of their physical traits

were different, particularly the size of their beaks. He recognized the

relationship between their beak size and their diet and concluded that

the traits reflected adaptions to their specific environments.

 Alfred Russel Wallace

 Natural Selection - In the struggle for existence, those individuals with favorable

variations would survive and reproduce, but those with unfavorable variations would

not. Below is the basic process.

o Process of Natural Selection (8 steps)

 1. All species are capable of producing offspring at a faster rate than food

supplies increase.

 2. There is biological variation within all species.

 3. In each generation, more offspring are produced than survive, and

because of limited resources, there is competition among individuals.

  4. Individuals who possess favorable variations or traits (for example

speed, resistance to disease, protective collaboration) have an advantage

over those who don’t have them. This is known as fitness.

 5. The environmental context determines whether or not a trait is

beneficial. What is favorable in one setting may be a liability in another.

Consequently, the traits that become most advantageous are the results

of a natural process.

 6. Traits are inherited and passed on to the next generation. Individuals

who possess favorable traits contribute more offspring to the next

generation than others do. Individuals who produce more offspring are

said to have greater reproductive success or fitness.

 7. Over long periods of time, successful variation accumulates in a

population, so that later generations may be instinct from their

ancestors. Thus, over time, a new species may appear.

 8. Geographical isolation contributes to the formation of new species. As

populations of a species become geographically isolated from one

another, they begin to adapt to different environments.

o Natural Selection in Action (4 steps) – know examples – The examples of moths,

finches, and bacteria provide insights to the following fundamentals of

evolutionary change produced by natural selection.

 1. A trait must be inherited if natural selection is to act upon it. For

example, a beak size is a hereditary trait.

  2. Natural selection cannot occur without population variation in

inherited characteristics. For example, if all of the peppered moths were

light gray survival would have been so low possibly to the point of

extinction. Selection can only work with variation that already exists.

 3. Fitness is a relative measure that changes as the environment changes.

For example, in the initial state the lighter moths were more fit because

they produced more offspring. But as the environment changed the dark

gray moths became more fit. Another example is the finches having

larger or smaller beaks depending on their external conditions.

 4. Natural selection can act only on traits that affect reproduction. If a

characteristic isn’t expressed until later in life, after organisms have

reproduced, then natural selection can’t influence it. This is because the

trait’s inherited components have already passed on to the offspring.

Examples include hereditary factors such as cancer and cardiovascular

disease.

o Natural Selection and Reproductive Success – Natural selection is not just about

mortality. Another aspect of natural selection is fertility.

 Fertility – Fertility is the ability to conceive and produce healthy

offspring.

 Differential Net Reproductive Success – Differential Net Reproductive

Success has to do with the crucial element of the number of young raised

successfully to the point where they themselves can

 Opposition to Evolution Today – Extra credit Concept

o Even though it’s been more than a century and half after the publication of ‘On

the Origin of Species’ the debate over evolution is far from over, especially in the

United States and in several Muslim countries.

 The majority of Christians don’t believe that biblical depictions should be

taken literally.

 Some surveys show that roughly half of all Americans don’t believe that

evolution occurs, in fact a Gallup Poll showed that 42 percent of

Americans believed in biblical creationism.

 Why is this?

 The mechanisms of evolution are complex and do not lend

themselves to simple explanations.

 Understanding them requires some familiarity with genetics and

biology and most people don’t have this.

 Another thing to consider is that regardless of their culture, most

people are raised in belief systems that don’t emphasize biological

continuity between species.

 Biological Continuity is a biological continuum. When expressions of a

phenomenon continuously grade into one another so that there are no

discrete categories, they exist on a continuum.

 The Relationship between science and religion.

  The relationship between science and religion has never been

easy.

 A major difference between science and religion is that religious

beliefs and explanations aren’t amenable to scientific testing.

 Science is based on data analysis, hypothesis testing and

interpretation. Religion is a system of faith-based beliefs.

 Religion and science concern different aspects of the human

experience, but they aren’t inherently mutually exclusive

approaches. That is, belief in God doesn’t exclude the possibility

of biological evolution and acknowledgement of evolutionary

processes doesn’t preclude the existence of God.

 A Brief History of Opposition to Evolution in the United States

o Scopes Monkey Trial – The Scopes Monkey Trial had to do with a high school

teacher named John Scopes. During this time Christians in the United States

sought a revival of traditional values. One of the ways to achieve this was to ban

the mention of evolution in public schools. Scopes was arrested for teaching

evolution. Scopes was convicted and fined $100. The conviction was later

overturned.

o Creationists – Creationists are proponents of creation science. They explain the

existence of the universe as the result of a sudden creation event that occurred

over the course of a six twenty-four days as described by the book of Genesis.

Creationists have insisted that creation science or ‘intelligent design’ is a valid

scientific explanation of the earths origins and should be offered in public

schools. Over the years several states have attempted to introduce ID into school

curriculums.